You Should Know Where I'm Coming From
by ohsweetmalia
Summary: "Tell me every terrible things you did and let me love you anyway." (AU)
1. Cold Night

**AU:** In which Jay _(21, Hank Voight's son)_ fell for Erin _(18)._

* * *

 **1** : Cold Night

Erin was standing in the abnormally quiet hall of the most explosive hospital of Chicago, completely breathless from running in the rain of this very cold Chicago's night. Her whole body was shaking, she was wet head to toes and blood was rolling down her face - but that was at the very end of her _Why My Life Suck_ list.

Just when she was about to walk toward the only doctor in the room, her feet stopped. She wasn't sure she could do it anymore, thanks to that _stupid little voice_ inside her head that never seemed to shut up; _What are you doing here? You're making a mistake, again. You're not supposed to be here. You don't even belong here. It's not about you and your too many problems that brought him here in the first place, it's about_ _him_ _and his family._

As much as she wanted to get the hell out of here and no matters how impossible it seemed, she managed to shut the voice off for the first time in a very long time and walked her way to that doctor - because there was apparently not a single thing in this world that Erin Lindsay wasn't willing to do if it was for Hank Voight.

"Excuse me," She politely apologized to that doctor as she interrupted her conversation with some guy. "He was shot. My… Friend. He was shot. You need to help me find him and tell me he is fine, please."

Erin sounded panicked and disoriented — which is probably why she easily got the caring attention of the intern who immediately noticed the bruises on Erin's face. "Ma'am, you need to take a deep breath and tell me what happened to you."

She swallowed hard, shaking her head. "No. What I need is to know if my friend is okay."

"I will help you find your friend, you have my word," The young doctor promised with a calm voice. "But you need to get treated before we start looking for him. You don't want your friend to see you with blood all over your face, do you?"

"His name is Hank Voight," Erin said, choosing to ignore her words. "Sergeant Hank Voight."

The young doctor exchanged a suspicious look with that _some guy_ before taking a step back.

"Who are you?"

"Erin," She answered in a quiet voice after a second of hesitation.

"I don't care about your name," She firmly said in a whole another tone — her calm and caring voice suddenly becoming as cold as ice. "I want to know who you are to Hank? Why are you here? Why are you looking for him?"

Erin frozen as she spoke, hearing the words of that _stupid little voice_ all over again. "I'm not going to answer your questions."

"She is not going to tell you shit then," That _some_ guy spat.

Asking nicely wasn't going to get that doctor talking, especially with this _asshole_ standing next to her - and Erin knew it. Even though she wasn't this kind of person, she had no other option. Her plan B was the only way she was going get this doctor talking.

So here she was, holding a gun in the face of a doctor and in the one of _some guy_ she didn't know a thing about,  for Hank. Ignoring the two officers behind her threatening to shot her and the typical ' _you don't want to do this_ ' from the two persons facing her, Erin decided to ask her question again. "Is Hank okay?"

"Listen," The doctor whispered, her voice trembling as much as Erin's. "My name is Natalie Manning. I'm dating Hank's son, Will. We're both interns here, at Chicago Med," She explained. "This is Jason. Everyone calls him Jay - but his name is Jason, he's Hank's second son."

"Natalie, don't say another word," He told her firmly.

Was she seriously holding a gun in the faces of Hank's family? Her head was spinning. She wasn't able to think straight anymore. They couldn't be his family - because there was no way Hank would forgive her for it, no matter how much she thought to herself that she was doing the right thing. She needed to believe they weren't.

"Stop lying to me," Erin shouted, over articulating each words as she took a step closer to them.

"He is fine, alright? He is alive and okay!" Hank's supposed second son quickly shouted at her face, scared she would actually shoot them if she wasn't getting what she wanted. "The bullet was really close to his heart but thankfully away enough to be successfully removed. Right now, he is watching the last minutes of a damned hockey's game with my brother and then he is going to be able to go home because that's how fucking fine he is."

Erin was crying now, not able to hold it back anymore. "Why isn't he answering my phone calls then?"

"It got destroyed when it happened," Natalie nervously answered. "It's broke. His phone is broke."

"I don't believe you," Erin said while running the scenario through her head over and over again.

As much as she wanted to believe them because it would mean that he was sound and safe, Erin couldn't. Because the Hank Voight she knows would've never left her behind after the conversation they had earlier on the phone — _even with a bullet in between his two eyes_.

"Erin," A familiar and calm voice interrupted her thoughts. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

" _Alvin?_ " She whispered softly as she could hear his steps behind her.

He took another step to Erin, finding himself facing her and her gun. "Come on, little one. What are you doing with this? What's the plan?"

"I called him earlier, I called Hank - because shit happened with Charlie. That's what I'm supposed to do if something happens; I call him and he shows up the next minute," She started explaining, still firmly holding her gun like it was the only thing she had left on earth. "But he never did. I tried to call him a few times again but he wasn't answering and then my best friend texted me to tell me that a cop was shot in Hank's neighborhood and I just knew — I knew it was him. I knew, Alvin. So I came here. I came, I asked nicely and still she wouldn't tell me anything. But I needed to know where Hank was, Alvin. I needed to know he was okay."

"I know and I get it," He said in that very calm voice of his. "But listen to me… Hank is okay; which means there is no need for you to stand here with your gun anymore. Those people are Hank's family and there is no safer place in the world for you than wherever they are," Alvin told her as he gave a quick look to Natalie and Jay who were still standing behind him.

"What's going around here?" Someone's rough voice made everyone else jump.

Erin dropped her gun the second she saw Hank standing there, his wife and first son by his side. She immediately raised her hands — as if he was about to arrest her or something. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

" _Kid_ ," He whispered as he took another step toward her.

"I have to go, _"_ She told him before turning around to run as far away from here as possible.

She was ashamed and felt like she couldn't stand here anymore, not after what she did. He was alive and it was all that matter. Now she was just going to go back home and wait for Satan to come home to her because that was **her** life - and if tonight taught her something; it was that she needed to keep Hank out of it. Because she was trouble.

But Hank was obviously not going to make it easy for her.

"Erin."

He didn't whispered this time. His voice was loud and firm; so much that Erin stopped walking immediately.

* * *

 _Much love._


	2. Men Hands

**2** : Men Hands

If one day Erin Lindsay was asked to name the one thing she couldn't stand in this world, she'd probably answer that she hated men hands and how they never felt gentle on her skin. And although she knew that Hank would never physically hurt her, she couldn't help but hate his too; hate his hands, hate his touch -even in this moment, when all he was doing was grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving.

Erin turned around and quietly stared at his hand on her forearm, slowly remembering Charlie's touch and the many blue marks he left there in the past four years. She closed her eyes for a short moment, trying to stop the memories from coming playing around her mind. But it was unbearable.

Forcing herself to look up and truly letting her tired eyes meet his for the first of the night, Erin started apologizing over and over again as a couple of tears were rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Hank. I'm so sorry, okay? You weren't showing up, you weren't answering my calls and then Hayley texted me that a cop was shot in your neighborhood… I freaked out. I thought you were dead and I needed to know you weren't. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself, I know I shouldn't have called you earlier and that I shouldn't even be here right now. And I'll be out of here in a second, I swear. You won't ever have to see me again. I won't be a problem for you anymore. I promise. Just let me go, alright? Let my arm go. Please, Hank."

Recalling now she couldn't stand skin contact, he immediately let Erin's arm go.

"Thank you," She quietly whispered before turning around to finally run as far away from here as possible.

But of course, after the first step she took, Hank's rough voice echoed in her ears again. "Where are you going to go?"

" _Home._ "

"To what? To that asshole? So he can beat you up some more?" Erin swallowed hard as Hank kept talking. "What was it this time, Erin? What happened? You didn't sell enough drugs for him this week? You didn't bring home enough money following your after-hours?" She ended up stopping walking, each of his words hitting her like a ton of bricks. "Because it's always your fault when shit happens, right? At least that's what you tell me when I usually ask. So tell me what you did to explain the bruises all over your face. Come on."

Hank seemed to be so pissed that he couldn't even calculate the weight of his own words on Erin. She knew she deserved the yelling and that's why she was working hard on herself to keep her mouth shut - but it was complicated, especially for someone like her.

He shook his head as she remained silent. "He is killing you slowly and you're letting him."

She was now as pissed as him. After a lot of experiences with cops and their stupid ways, Erin was able to tell when Voight was trying to play detective on her. And, obviously, she knew he was currently trying to provoke her to get her talking, to know what he wanted to know.

"You want to know what happened?!" Erin angrily shouted, walking the few steps that separated them. "When I woke up this morning, the whole _life has so much more to offer to someone like you_ shit you gave me yesterday was all I could think about! I couldn't get it out of my head. I started believing there was something else for me…" She shook her head and started laughing ironically at her words. "I was seeing myself somewhere that wasn't in this shitty house. I imagined doing something that I enjoy and earning money that I actually earned and deserved. So when he came home tonight, pissed and drunk as fuck, I was supposed to be okay with opening my legs for him and making him feel better about his day because that's how it works, you know?! He puts food on the table and I give him whatever the fuck he asks for as a thank you."

"Erin," He whispered coldly as a warming to remind her of the presence of his family behind him.

"Just wait for it," She cut him off. "I said no! For the first time, I refused to do it. I told him I wasn't going to get into his bed because I believed I deserved better. Don't worry, I'm going keep the details to myself since I still have a little of self-respect but he obviously didn't like it and shit happened. But I fought it, or I really tried to. So next time you want to give me a lesson or want to get information, don't try to give me crap about Charlie. I deserve a lot of things for the things I have done but I don't deserve this."

What Erin didn't understand was that the gun wasn't the only reason why Hank was so pissed off. He was also mad at himself for letting this happen again. It wasn't easy for a man like him to let a person he loves like his own daughter getting hurt and not being able to do shit about it. He hated this.

Hank was about to open his mouth to try to explain it to her when he heard his wife's sweet voice behind him, "Erin?"

Erin mechanically took a few steps back as Camille was walking toward them.

"I am Hank's wife; my name is Camille," She told her as she was now standing next to her husband. "You might not remember but we met once when you were younger."

"I remember," Erin quietly whispered.

"I always tell my children that every bad day should end with lasagna for dinner - and after what happened, we were just about to head home and make some," Camille explained as she offered Erin the warmest smile ever. "I was thinking maybe you could join us? Will and Natalie could take a look at those little bruises and then you could come home with us and forget for a little while about the hell that today was."

Her eyes immediately meet Hank's as if she needed his blessing to accept the invitation.

"I think I'm talking for Hank and the entire family when I say that we'd love to have you at our table," Camille immediately reassured her.

One hour and 20 stitches later, Erin entered one of the most beautiful houses she had ever seen alongside Will and Natalie. The first thing that she noticed was how good it smelled. It felt like family. It felt right. It felt safe. And she liked that.

"How did it go?" Hank immediately asked as soon as they walked through the door. He had no idea how she was because he and Camille had driven home earlier with their second son to be able to make dinner.

Will laughed. "No contusion. She just needed stitches."

And that was how Erin ended up at Hank Voight's table for the first time; threatening his family to find out how he was. She couldn't believe it. She felt uncomfortable, but in a good way.

"Can I use the bathroom?" She quietly whispered to him as Jay sat across her — and so next to his father.

"Are you okay?" The Sergeant asked her, evidently concerned about every moves she makes.

"Yeah, I just need to pee," She answered with a little smile. "I'm fine. Really."

"The first door to your right in the hallway," He told her, offering her a grin in return.

Since Natalie and Will were helping Camille with the lasagna in the kitchen, Erin left him alone with Jay. He was quiet, which most likely meant he was upset about something - and Hank knew why. _He didn't like the idea of Erin being here for dinner_.

"What's going on with you?" Hank asked him anyway - as the rest of the family finally sat around the table, the lasagna ready to be eaten at the center of it.

"Not much," Jason stared at his empty plate for a second before looking up to meet his father's eyes. "I'm just trying to figure out why you're letting someone who was literally threatening to kill Natalie and I not even two hours ago eat under our roof."

"Jason," Hank breathed as everyone immediately stopped talking.

"No," His son loudly cut him before he could say another word, openly not giving a crap about who was hearing him or not. "After what happened to you today, you can't ask me or any of us to sit here with someone that owns a gun and was holding it to our faces because she wanted to know where the fuck you were."

"Do you seriously think I would've brought her into our house if I wasn't 100% sure she wasn't a danger for us?"

"I don't know! Why didn't you answer when I asked you who the hell she was if she really isn't then?! And when I asked how she even knows you?! Or when I asked how the fuck you two ended up meeting?!" He stopped talking for a second, realizing he was literally screaming at the face of his father. "That's why I'm worried. Your silence got me worried. I don't know shit beside the fact that she could be the person that got you shot in front of our house earlier… And I won't sit here and pretend that she is family if I'm not 100% sure that she actually really is. I won't do it."

Hank opened his mouth to say something but ended up keeping it shut as Erin entered the room again. Everyone could easily tell that she heard every word that Jason screamed just by looking at her - but she didn't say anything and just sat back at her place, an awkward silence now surrounding the room.

"What was your first question?" She simply asked after two long minutes of nothing but quiet. "Who am I, right?"

"We don't have any questions," Camille firmly said as she was giving her son an angry glare. "You don't have to do this. You actually don't have to do anything besides share a dinner with us. Jason might not know it yet but _**you are family**_ and we're happy to have you here."

Erin turned her head to meet Camille's eyes and gave her an honest 'I appreciate it' smile, before turning back and opening her mouth to answer Jason's first question anyway. "My name is Erin, Erin Lindsay. I turned eighteen last month. I was born in Chicago and I've lived in that 'famous but good for nothing' neighborhood Englewood for my entire life. It's not the greatest place to grow up but - well, I learned to accept the fact it was where I belonged."

"It's not," She heard Hank whispering that as if he was miles away from where she was sitting. The truth was, she was so focused on choosing the right words to answer his questions that it felt like it was just Jason and her in the room. Because even though he was just that _some guy she didn't know shit about_ , all that Erin wanted in that moment was to prove him wrong and make him understand that she wasn't the kind of person he was thinking she was. She wanted him to know that she was the total opposite of that person who was holding a gun to his face earlier. She needed him to know that.

So she ignored Hank and kept going. "About the second one, I don't really know. I guess the reason why I ended up meeting Hank is because I have shitty parents that never gave a crap about me in the first place? My mom is a junkie addicted to heroin and my dad got locked up when I wasn't even 4 for drugs trafficking. It makes sense, doesn't it? Someone like me was meant to meet cops at some point."

Jason was listening to each of her words, embarrassed but interested. A part of him truly wanted to stop her from talking - because he could see how hard it was for her to talk in front of people and because he wasn't that heartless. But he also couldn't shut down that other part of him that wanted to know literally everything. As much as he wanted to, he still couldn't trust her. He needed more.

"I was eight years old when I first met him," She stated, waking him up from his thoughts. "I had grown up as an only child and, well, home could easily get boring - especially because my mom was always too high or too busy not caring to realize I would've liked to have someone to actually care about me. Thankfully, I always managed to keep myself busy - mostly with my 'imaginary' sister: Madame Cuddles, a teddy bear that my grandmother gave me when I was a baby. She became my ultimate best friend. I took her everywhere with me, even to school."

She smiled, quickly remembering all those hours she spent talking to a simple teddy bear - even though she was nothing like simple to Erin's heart. It actually was the best part of those long years.

"Anyway," Erin whispered quietly, shaking her head to focus on her explanation again. "One day, at school actually, my teacher found cocaine in the backpack of Madame Cuddles. The cops showed up, some dumb officer asked me stupid questions I didn't answer because I had that _never answer a cop question unless you have a damn good lawyer sitting next to you_ education and also because there was no way I was going to tell them that it was without a doubt my mom's drugs. So I just kept my mouth shut until Hank popped out of nowhere to tell this dumb officer that he had to take away my Madame Cuddles - then I got pissed."

Laughs were filling the room as Erin's voice was slowly vanishing away the awkward silence.

"I remember telling myself that I had to start screaming and crying as loud as I could - and that's what I did. After a few minutes, Hank got sick of hearing me and told that same dumb officer he was going to take care of me and asked him to leave the room. He managed to sound kind, which was weird since his voice sounds nothing like kind. Then he talked to me for about half an hour. We talked about me and about what I liked to do when I wasn't in school, which obviously always involved my Madame Cuddles. He ended up asking me why she was so special to me and I remember answering that she was my only friend when we were outside the house and my sister when we were home. God, that was so cheesy."

"It was," Hank stated, smiling as he was remembering this day at the same time as she was.

Erin rolled her eyes and laughed, making everyone laugh along with her. After a second, she continued: "I guess pity got the best of him since he promised me to bring it back to me personally the next day, which he did. And since no one ever kept a promise made to me before that, I guess that's when I started liking him," She turned her head to meet Hank's eyes. "Ever since then, he began checking in on me every Monday - at school at first and then to wherever I was hanging at. Now he just texts me a place and a time and I join him there. We eat burgers in his car and we talk. It might sound creepy and weird but _it's always the highlight of my week_. Always."

Her eyes left Hank's to meet Jason's again.

"That's why knowing he was alive was so important to me," She whispered. "But I know the way I reacted wasn't right and I will be sorry about that for the rest of my life, sincerely."

* * *

 _Much love._


	3. Same Cold Night, Car Ride

**3** : Same Cold Night, Car Ride

"Do you remember when dad tried to bake a cake to celebrate your 8th birthday?" Hank's oldest son asked his younger brother as the dessert was being served by their mom.

Jason started laughing, slowly remembering that unforgettable day, "Probably the worst thing I've ever tasted in my life, man."

"Both of you still ate it," Stated the Sergeant before thanking his beloved wife for the piece of chocolate cake she handed him a second before.

Laughs have been filling the room because of anecdotes like this one for about an hour. Erin quickly understood that this house has had witnessed some serious epic moments and surprisingly found herself curious to know all about them.

And as she was slowly discovering a place where she doesn't have to be high to forget about the things she wants her mind away from, Hank was trying to remember the last time he heard her laugh that much - but couldn't seem to figure it out. Only one thing was clear to him, though. He'd take a bullet every single day of his life just to see that smile eating dinner and laughing with his loved-ones under this roof. _Because his family never felt more complete than it did right now._

By the time midnight rang, they had carried the anecdotes to the kitchen. Anecdotes that quickly turned into an argument when Erin suddenly realized it was time for her to go back home.

"You're not leaving when we have a guest room ready for you upstairs," Camille said as she was cleaning the dishes alongside Natalie. "It's against the rules of this house, young lady."

"But I can't," Erin smiled, truly appreciating the offer but politely declining it. "I wish I could, I sincerely do - but for some reasons, I really can't. I need to get home."

Hank quickly figured out this sudden urge to leave and walked the few steps that separated him from her, "You think he's waiting for you?"

She shrugged as she was putting her leather jacket on, "It'd be logical since he likes to pretend the house is his before being mine."

"You don't have to go back, Erin," He told her, shaking his head at her very stupid idea. "Ever."

She smiled and sweetly kissed his cheek - just like she always does when it's time for them to say goodbye. "I'll be fine. You know I'm tough."

Erin was about to thank Camille for her absolutely divine dinner when she gently pulled her into a warm embrasse and whispered a wave of lovely words into her ear along the way, "Our door will always be open for you, at any time of the day or of the night. Don't ever forget it, sweetheart."

She closed her eyes, trying hard to keep her tears to herself as her arms were still wrapped tight around Camille. "You were right… About your lasagna. They really are a great way to end bad days. Thank you."

After promising Will and Natalie she'd stop by the hospital to get those stitches checked out before the end of the week, she found herself in another argument with the chief of the family.

"It's not the first time I'm going to walk home on my own in the middle of the night, Hank," Erin sighed as the Sergeant was insisting on driving her. "You need to rest."

"She is right," Will admitted in some serious exaggerated doctor voice. "You do need to rest."

And that's how Erin ended up walking alone in the cold streets of her be-loved city. She was a breathing block of ice. She couldn't feel her hands or feet anymore. But she hasn't had a good night in a very long time and that was worth smiling for. But not even two minutes later, a car stopped by her side. She first thought it was some kind of disgusting guy trying to hit on her but soon realized it wasn't when the driver called out her name through the window.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, confused.

"I was going to a friend's house and I thought you could use a ride," Jason answered, shrugging. "Are you coming or not?"

Erin took a look around her, trying to figure out if yes or no it was a good idea to let him drive her home - because it could end up badly and she knew it. But man, this cold was going to kill her before she could even make it there if she kept walking.

"So, what's her name?" She teased him as the car ride has been nothing but quiet since he started driving.

"Adam," He simply answered, holding back a smirk.

She chuckled a little. "Nice."

"About earlier, I shouldn't have said the things you heard," Jason unexpectedly apologized.

Erin turned her head and watched him for a second, surprised. "Just like I shouldn't have held a gun to your face. Shit happens."

"I guess, yeah," He nodded, offering her a smile as the car stopped at a red light.

When they finally made it through the traffic, Jason parked his black BMW in front of her house. And that's when Erin literally froze. Lights were on inside and she knew what it meant. **Satan was home sweet home.**

"Is everything okay?" Jason asked, his voice making her jump.

"I… I have to go," Erin's destabilized voice echoed in the car, looking away from the house to let her beautiful brown eyes met Jason's confused ones.

"Wait," Erin heard him say before she could make it out of the car. "You don't have to go out there if you don't want to."

She turned around to find his eyes again, "I do."

"That's bullshit," He interrupted her.

"Why do you even care?"

"I don't," He told her, his legendary honesty taking the best out of him. "I'm just saying that if you want me to drive away right now, I will."

"Well, I don't," She declined. "I need to make him pay for what he did. Thanks for the ride."

That's when Erin got out of the car and ran toward the house, anger taking all over her fears.

"Stop walking!" Jason was trying to stop her from walking into the house. "Fuck, Erin! What the hell are you doing?!"

"What do you think I am doing?!" Erin walked in anyway, with Jason on her tail, as she spoke. "This asshole is the reason why Hank got shot!"

"James Beckett is the reason why he got shot," He rectified.

Before Erin could say anything, Charlie suddenly appeared out of nowhere - obviously stoned. He took one look at Erin, then another look at Jason and sneered. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Jason," He answered, his voice as cold as the night. "Charlie, right? I've heard a lot about you. Nothing good, though - in case you were wondering."

"You think I give a fuck what this tramp has to say about me?" He asked, laughing again.

"You sure you want to be calling her a tramp, jackass?" Jason quickly retorted back, walking a firm step forward to Charlie.

"Yeah, I fucking do. What the fuck are you going to do?" He said, taking one as well. "Who the fuck do you think you are questioning who I am and who I fuck? What the fuck is so special about this damn whore that you dumbass think you need to save?"

"What are you on about, exactly?" Jason asked him. "She's just a girl who has apparently horrible taste in men."

Charlie laughed manically, "She didn't tell you, did she? Huh. She's a prostitute. A hooker. Give me a couple bucks or a score and she's yours for the night."

Erin stood there, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. She had already made a horrible impression on Jay today and she worked hard to clear things up for herself during the dinner - but now this. She wanted to crawl into a hole, ashamed.

Jason took his step back, the information hitting him harder than it should. He couldn't help but feel disappointed, as if she was someone different from the person he thought she was a minute before. That person he learned to appreciate just over a dinner and a short car ride.

He cleared his throat and turned around to face Erin, "You're going to be okay? Because I think I should go."

"Uh… Yeah, totally. I'll be fine," She mumbled back. "Thanks for the lift."

He turned around to leave when he heard shuffling behind him, it was Charlie grabbing Erin and starting to drag her further into the house. And in that moment, he forgot all the thoughts he had about Erin. He couldn't figure out what but there was something about this girl that made it impossible for him to just leave her behind like that.

"Don't fucking touch her, you worthless piece of shit," Jason yelled in anger, running toward them as if his life depended on it.

"You did not just tell me what to do in my fucking house," Charlie replied, seething because he thought he was finally going to teach Erin her lesson of the day. "You son of a bitch, you should've just left."

Erin knew this wasn't the time, but she felt like she had to. She hated when Charlie claimed it was his house, when it was her mother's. So she spoke in the loudest voice she could make out, "It's not your house. It's my mother's. Which means it's mine."

"Shut up, bitch," He replied to her while still glaring at Jason. "I own you and I own this house."

"Erin, come on… Let's get out of here," Jason piped in as he was holding his hand out to her, hoping she would take it. "I'll take you back home and dad will figure out what to do from there, alright? You can't stay here."

Charlie could not believe what he was hearing. He pushed Erin to the ground, pulled out a gun and began pointing it at Jay, "Get the fuck out of my house or I will fucking kill you. Erin is staying here."

"Do you really think you're a man because you hide behind a gun and threaten to kill me? You think you're the first person to do that?" Jason quickly shot back at Charlie. "I have no intention of staying in your fucking house but I'm not leaving without her."

"You son of a bitch, you think I'm just threatening you? You think I won't shoot you? Fucking watch me!" Charlie screamed at Jason's face.

As Charlie took the safety off the gun, Erin managed to get up and jumped in front of Charlie. "Don't! Don't do it! He'll leave, alright?! He'll leave."

Jay, standing behind her, shook his head. "I'm not."

Erin didn't turn around, just stood in front of the gun with her hands up - hoping it would actually protect him from a bullet, "Go, Jason. I'll be okay, I always am."

Jason unwittingly left the house filled with rage as Charlie didn't loose a minute and dragged Erin upstairs. And, right then and there, she knew. She just made the wrong decision. _Once again_.

To say Charlie was pissed was an understatement. He started throwing around everything that was in his sight, including Erin. He pushed her against the wall and, as she cried, she managed to make words come out of her mouth, "I'm so sorry, Charlie."

"You think sorry is going to make this okay?! You brought one of your boys into my fucking house like I was nothing? Don't fucking forget who made you into who you are! Worthless but still worth some cash, bitch! Fuck you!" He yelled to her face, throwing punchs everywhere he possibly could to hurt her as bad as possible.

"He's not one of my boy," Erin whispered through her sobs.

She was so tired, she usually could handle herself in situations where Charlie was like this but she had experienced what life could be like. She was so tired of living the life she was living when all she really wanted was family, a family like the one she had witnessed that night, an imperfect yet perfect family filled with love.

Unfortunately, that just enraged Charlie even more. He picked her up and threw her on the bed. "Good because you are never going to see him again, not as long as I'm fucking alive."

Hearing that for some reason was the push Erin needed, she kicked Charlie as hard as she possibly could and ran as fast as she could. She managed to make her way out of the house and decided in a split second to run as fast as possible and as far as she could.

* * *

 _Much love._


	4. Promise

**4** : Promise

Erin ran for what felt like ages. She didn't stop. She couldn't stop. Because there was no way she was going to let this happen to her again. But when she finally slowed down, Erin realized she wasn't running as fast as she thought she was. She found herself standing outside that convenience store near her house, breathless. " _That's not possible._ "

She immediately started eyeing every corners that was surrounding her like a crazy person, making sure Charlie wasn't anywhere near. Thankfully, he wasn't. But when she turned her attention to the store again, Erin noticed how deserted the place looked and quickly figured out it was closed.

"Goddamn it!" She shouted before letting herself fall against the door, frustration eating the last bit of energy she had left.

And just when she could feel hope dying on her, the lights inside the store miraculously went on. Erin quickly got up and started to overthink how in hell was she going to be able to explain herself. But surprisingly, the old lady didn't ask any questions and immediately opened the door to let her in, "Come on, Hun. You're going to catch a cold if you stay outside."

The kind lady held her hand and told her to sit down so she would grab some water but was stopped by Erin's voice. "Please, don't leave."

"Oh darling, I'm right here!" She replied, replacing Erin's hair behind her ears to clear her face. "My name is Linda and I'm going to stay with you as long as you need. Take some deep breathes, love."

For some reasons, that made Erin cry even more. She mumbled a few words but the old woman could not make them out.

"Would you let me take a look at the injuries you've got going on here?"

"What injuries?" Erin got out before looked down at herself, noticing how her grey shirt became red from blood. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here. You don't even know me. I'm not usually like this. I never cry; crying isn't what I do. But I..."

Linda held Erin close to her as she whispered a few words to her ear, "Don't be sorry. I don't know who you're running from but I've got you now. Just tell me what I can do to help you."

Suddenly feeling very drowsy, she fought hard to keep her eyes open as she spoke, "Do you - do you have a phone?"

"Yes, who would you like me to call?" The store's owner asked her with a sweet and caring voice.

She whispered her next words very weakly, letting out a few sobs along the way, "Call 911 and pl-please ask them to talk to Hank Voight, the Sergeant Hank Voight from Discrict 21. Tell him it's Erin Lindsay, tell him that he was right. Tell him I'm not okay and that I need him, that I need him really badly. Please? Tell him…"

Then everything around her began to spin and before she even knew it, black clouds pressed their way into her vision and she passed out.

— — — —

When Erin opened her eyes again, a flash of the past events roughly overwhelmed her before she could even figure out where she was. A replay of each seconds from those long minutes was being thrown back at her like a slap across the face. Worst thing about it was, she almost could feel _ **his**_ hands all over her body all over again.

"Erin, listen to me," She recognized Will's voice upon her, feeling his hand on her forehead. "I know it hurts but I need you to stay still. Can you do that for me? I'm pretty sure you can. You're a tough one, right? Come on."

And just right here, as he spoke, a massive wave of pain overwhelmed her. She started screaming as loud as she could, as if she needed to somehow get that pain out.

"I know, I'm sorry," He apologized, feeling useless because he couldn't do anything to make the pain go away yet. "You have to hold on just for another minute, Erin. You're half way there, I promise. You're doing great. Just hold on, okay? Hold on."

Erin _knew_ pain. She went down that road over and over again before. But this one, this pain… it was more than what she ever knew and way beyond what she could take. This pain was **sharp** and **constant**. This pain was **crushing**.

"What, what's happening to me? What's going on?" She cried as pain was slowly starting to make it harder for her to breathe. "I can't, I can't… Please, help me. I can't. Help me. You need to help me. Please. I can't."

"Okay! Okay, I'll help you. Take deep breathes for me, okay? I'll help you," Will told her before turning to his fellow intern, Dr. Connor Rhodes. "She can't take this amount of pain any longer. We need to do something about it, _now_."

"We can't give her anything until the blood test comes back from the lab," Connor retorted on the same hard tone as him. "There is a protocol and you damn well know it."

"Go get a dose of morphine," Will ordered the nurse standing next to him, completely ignoring his co-worker's words. "Did you hear what I just said? Go get a dose of morphine. _**Now**_ _._ "

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Will overheard Connor spit as he grabbed a needle anyway. "You can't do that. If she consumed any substances in the last 48 hours, you could kill her."

"Don't! Don't, Will!" Natalie's voice echoed in the room as she entered it, out of breathe from running around the hospital. "Everybody here, do not give her any morphine! Understood? No morphine!"

After Nat handed her boyfriend the results, he realized her bloodstream was filled with cocaine and that he could've killed her in a second _._ "Damn it!" He frustratedly shouted, throwing the needle into a wall.

In the main time, Natalie had approached Erin and had carefully wrapped her hand around hers. "Listen, I need you to focus for a short moment and tell me exactly how and when was the last time you consumed cocaine. We want to help you but we need this information to do things right, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Erin started apologizing repeatedly, ashamed - knowing she was going to disappoint Hank's family once again. "I think, I think it was… Two days ago, maybe. I snorted when I came home from work around midnight."

"We need to get her to the OR, _**now**_ ," Connor announced, everyone starting to get ready to transfer her as he spoke. "The bleeding is too important. She's going to bleed out if we don't."

 _Remembering he promised his father that he'd take care of Erin and that he'd stand by her side every steps of the way to make sure she wasn't alone,_ Will quickly got his shit together and walked to her bed. "Everything's going to be okay. You're going to be sleeping before you even know it."

And in that moment more than ever, Erin felt exhausted. So exhausted of fighting to keep her eyes open, of this damned pain, of this awful feeling of vulnerability she hated so much. She wanted it all to just stop, to shut down. She dreamed of a silent and peaceful place where she couldn't even think. And she knew that all she had to do was to stop fighting the drowsiness, to let go. But there was this micro tiny part of her who was afraid not to be able to come back from this place, who was afraid to die.

Because life may be a heartless creature to her right now but what if it the end of the storm was just around the corner? What if it was so close that she could almost feel happiness coming? Because even while walking through hell, Erin still had _hope_. She wanted to explore New York since she was a kid. She also wanted to do normal things like go iceskating and go to dance her butt off to a concert. She wanted to hike a mountain to the top just to hear the echo of her voice after she screamed random words out. She wanted to experience love, to fall for someone so hard that she could become more addicted to this person than to drugs. She wanted to prove her parents wrong, to show them that the only thing they actually did right was _ **her**_. She wanted to make Hank proud. She wanted more of her best friend and her annoying voice waking her up in the morning. She wanted to adopt a dog and name it Pancake. She wanted to buy a car just to be able to sing along to "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson, windows open and sunglasses on. She wanted to travel, to discover new things.

 _God!_ She was realizing it now. She wanted more from life, from the world, from its people. She didn't have enough. She was hungry for more. She wanted to start over, to become someone good and she was willing to accept help to get there from now on if that meant getting out of that neighborhood - of _that_ life. All she needed was the chance to ask for it.

"I'm scared," She confessed so quietly that the doctors around barely heard her.

Will gave her the ultimate offended look, making his girlfriend laugh softly as they were pushing her bed out of the emergency room. "What do you mean you're scared? Are you doubting my medicine skills?"

Just when Natalie was about to reassure Erin, Hank pumped out of nowhere with an impressive flow of a questions by second, "Is she going to be okay?! Where are you taking her?! What's going on?! What did he do to her?!"

"Dad, I'll send someone to talk to you and tell you all about what's going on but we need to take her to the O.R. as soon as possible," Will told him as the bed stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Hank… Hank," Erin cried, panic starting to overwhelm her again. She was afraid to watch him go without hearing her out first, afraid that they'd take her away to surgery before she could finally ask him for help. Because this was her chance and she was ready to take it. She needed to take it. _**Now**_.

Hank turned around to met her beautiful eyes, tired and filled with tears. He offered her a reassuring smile and used his left hand to carefully caress her hair. _He hated this. He hated seeing her in so much pain and not being able to do a damn thing about it. He hated feeling useless, especially with one of his children._ "Hey there, tough little one. Don't cry."

His words only brought more tears to her bloody cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Jason was right. I should've followed him, I should've left with him. Because I was never going to be okay there. But I went again. I went for more, as if I was asking for it. But I wasn't. I was being stubborn, I was angry. But I want out now. I'm done, Hank. I need it to stop, I can't take it no more. Please, get me out. Please. Don't leave without me. Please, okay? I'll do anything you want. I just don't ever want to go back. Don't let me go back."

Hank swallowed hard, his heart breaking a little bit more with each words that she pronounced. "I won't go anywhere without you. You have my word."

"I'm sorry to interrupt but we _really_ need to keep moving," Connor's voice made Erin jump as the young doctor urged them again.

According to the colors of their blouses, the doctors surrounding _his_ kid were all interns - all kids themselves to his eyes. Hank loved his son. He loved him and that's why he would never trust an intern with his life neither. He really wished that Will was wearing that dark blue blouse. But he wasn't and Hank couldn't risk loosing _her_. "Where's the attending on call?"

"We paged him but he still hasn't show up," Natalie answered as Will sighed loudly, annoyed.

"I guess you'll need to page someone else then," His voice strictly ordered all of them as Erin was slowly letting her drowsiness win the battle they've been fighting for over half an hour.

"We don't have the time to wait for someone else," Dr. Rhodes spat, really not impressed by Hank or his big and almost scary voice. "She is going to die if we do."

"Go," Will told his colleagues, standing in front of his father to stop him from following them or do anything stupid. "Go, _**now**_."

Hank opened his mouth to probably threaten his own son to punch him if he didn't get the hell out of his way but was cut out when the young surgeon spoke before he could. "I'm going to talk to you as her doctor and you're going to listen carefully because I don't have time to repeat myself: We're trauma surgeons. We walk through those doors everyday, we put those blouses on and we do our very best to save the lives that are put in our hands. Being an intern does not make us any less good than the attending that we paged and who is, by the way, probably too busy sleeping to show up. Thankfully we are here and, although you seem to doubt it, we are qualified to perform surgeries on our own. So back off and wait here until we're done." When his father tried to interrupt his little monologue, Will stopped him. "Don't, I'm not finished yet. I'm going to take a second to talk to you as your son now: I know that it's hard for you to have no control over the situation and I know that you hate it but I need you to trust us, to **trust me**. We _can_ do this. We _will_."

Before he could even think of an answer, Will ran away from him to join his colleagues upstairs. Because he had a life to save and there was no more time left to waste.

When he entered the scrub room, he was welcomed by his girlfriend's refreshing smile. "Everything's okay?" She immediately asked him.

On a normal day, he would've laugh at her question. Then he would've walked into the O.R. and performed this surgery he knows like the back of his hand. It would've been quick and clean. It would've been easy, almost like a routine. He wouldn't have had to question anything, he just would've trust each of his moves. Because this O.R. was his environment, his world. No place could make him feel as good and as fearless. He was _always_ fine here, no matters what was happening outside. In between those walls, he always feet fine and confident.

But today wasn't normal. Because the patient wasn't anyone. She would've been if everything happened just a few hours earlier but it didn't and now he had to deal with it. Thing was… He didn't know how to.

"My dad… I saw it, in his eyes. He looked at me the way he would've looked at me if it was Jay on the table." He explained. "I tried to look confident in front of him, like I was sure we could do it. But, what if we can't? What if we fuck up?"

Letting all the doubts he tried so hard to keep to himself almost made him feel better. It probably was because he wasn't just facing a co-worker, he was facing his girlfriend. His girlfriend he knew he could tell _everything_ to and expect the best advices out of it.

"We won't fuck up," She told him, approaching him close enough to let him know that he wasn't alone but away enough to look professionals. "We've already been there multiple times before and we saved the patient everytime, remember? This is our job and we are good at it. Plus, we are a great team. Which mean Erin isn't dying today."

He smiled at Natalie's words. "I'd kiss you hard right now if it was appropriate."

Her magic laugh echoed in the room before she left it to join Erin's side in the O.R. She wanted to hold Erin's hand while the anesthetist was doing his thing. She wanted to make her feel surrounded, to help her get through it. "Are you ready for this?"

"Almost," She weakly nodded. "I just… I started overthinking. That's what I do when I'm nervous, I overthink. And I realized that I never thanked him, I never thanked Hank. He always stood by my side and I never said thank you."

"Believe me, you'll have a billion opportunities to thank him when you get out of here," Natalie promised after she quickly vanished away the tears that Erin's words brought up to her eyes. "Because you _**are**_ getting out of here."

She tried to hold her sobs back but couldn't. Not tonight, not right now. "And I'll thank him when I do, I swear I will. It's going to be the first thing I do when I wake up, actually. But… I need to know that he knows how thankful I am in order to be completely ready for this. So I'm begging you, could you go and thank him for me just this one time? Please."

"Okay," Natalie murmured in a whisper. "I'll do it, I'll go. I promise."

Erin managed to give her a small smile through her sobs, "I'm ready then."

Hank was sitting in a cold and empty room of the hospital, away from the noises of its hallways. He needed silence to figure out when in the world did he let it go that far, when did it got out of his hands. He used to be the one getting her out of trouble and the one helping her to get on her foot again.

"Here you are! I've been looking for you all around the hospital," His wife's voice brought him back to reality. "I brought you some coffee. Here, drink it."

"Thank you," Hank whispered as she sat by his side, resting her head against his shoulder. "You should go home and sleep a little."

"I'm fine," She refused.

"You're tired," He corrected her just before a familiar voice interrupted their conversation.

When Natalie appeared in the sight of the married couple, they both immediately jumped out of their chairs. She couldn't be standing in front of them already, they couldn't be finished when they probably haven't started yet. Something was wrong.

When she noticed the panic in their eyes, Natalie reassured them right away. "Everything's okay. I'm only here to talk."

"Go headed," Hank nodded - half relieved, half nervous.

"Erin came in with multiple broken ribs. She also needed a re-do on most of her head wounds. But most importantly… He stabbed her," She explained, using the word **he** because _everyone_ here knew who did this.

Camille wrapped her hand around her husband's, letting him know that she was there and that he could hold on to her through whatever what was coming next. "Where? Where did he…?"

"Her abdomen," She cut him, seeing he had trouble to finish his sentence. "It didn't damage any organs but she lost a lot of blood and developed an infection."

"But she is going to make it, right?" Hank asked, not even bothering to hide how scared he was to actually lose her.

"We won't give up on her," She promised, a tear in the corner of her eye. That look on his face… It was tough to look at. "There is something else you need to know… She doesn't seem to know that he stabbed her. The old woman who called on your phone told the paramedics that Erin didn't notice the blood all over her shirt until she questioned her about it."

"How is it possible?" Camille asked for him.

"We think he did it to stop her from fighting back and leaving but that the knife didn't go deep enough to stop her completely. Adrenaline must've protect her from pain and made it possible for her to run away without even noticing what happened," Natalie explained.

To say that Hank was about to lose his shit was an understatement. He couldn't hold it in anymore, no matters how hard he tried to. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to find him and I'm going to kill him."

"You can't go!" Natalie grabbed his arm to stop him from taking another step. Her voice came out so firm and loud that it made him turn around automatically, with that _are you seriously talking to me that way?_ face. "I'm sorry but you can't! You made a promise to Erin. You told her that you wouldn't go anywhere without her. You can't just leave and let her wake up by herself."

"I trust you to be by her side when she does," He told her.

Natalie laughed, shaking her head. "You don't understand. I'm just a stranger to her, someone she met a couple of hours ago over dinner and a doctor that won't even be able to take her pain away because no fucking medicine is strong enough to stop it without killing her in the process. My face isn't what she wants to wake up to. Yours is."

"I'll try and come back before she does wake up then."

"She freaked out, upstairs," Natalie informed him, playing her very last card to make him stay. "We were about to put her to sleep and she realized that she never thanked you. She couldn't stand it. She wanted to see you, right away. We couldn't make it happen 'cause we were out of time so I promised that I'd do it for her. Since I keep every promises that I make, here you go: Erin thanks you and she can't wait to thank you again in person," Hank was about to say something but she cut him off before he could. "I kept my words and with all due respect, you should quit being selfish and keep yours."

"The first time she entered my car with a black eye, she explained it by telling me that her mom's new boyfriend was unable to accept no as an answer. I was ready to go and give that asshole a lesson that he would never forget… But she didn't let me. She told me that she had never seen her mom so happy than since he was around, that she could take his shit as long as he kept on making her smile. Then she made me promise to never touch him and to never put him in a cell. So I accepted the drug trafficking, I accepted the fact that he got her addicted to heroin, I accepted to let him use her as a punching ball. I even accepted worse. I accepted everything he was throwing her way because I knew that she would walk away from me the minute I broke that promise and I couldn't…" He paused, shaking his head. "I kept that promise for four fucking years. But I'm done. Maybe she'll hate me for it, maybe she won't. I don't care. Because as long as that asshole isn't around anymore, she'll be fine and so will I. Accept it."

"Hank," Camille whispered, trying to get her stubborn husband's eyes on her. "Hank, look at me? I'm your wife. I stood by your side through it all, good and ugly. I supported every choices that you made because I _knew_ that it was the right one everytime. But if I have to block the way out of this hospital to stop you from making this one choice, I will. Because you're about to make one hell of a mistake, there. Erin… She finally realized that she needed you, that you could help her get the life that she deserves to have. You can't just run away and let your angst ruin it. You have to keep your promise and be here when she wakes up, Hank. You have to do it for her."

— — — —

Meanwhile, on the other side of town and after a few beers with his best friend, Jason found himself on the step of the door of another friend. _**Mila**_.

It was always the same thing between them, over and over again. He'd knock on the door, she'd act surprised and then she'd do something to help him forget all about his day without asking any questions. The afterwards was always more complicated though, especially for her. She'd be needy of sweet kisses and of beautiful words that Jason couldn't and wouldn't give to her. Worst thing was, she knew it since day one; when he told her it would never be anything more than just sex, that he wasn't a _dating kind of guy_. He even offered her a way out before they start doing anything if it wasn't enough for her. But here she always was, desperately hoping for more everytime his blue eyes walked through her door.

"Who's Erin?" She asked, watching him grab his clothes around her bedroom half naked.

When _her_ name echoed in the room, he turned around almost unconsciously and faced Mila right away. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," She groaned in a way that did nothing expect upset him.

As Mila kept whining about his lack of attention toward her, Jay was trying to figure how in the world could she could possibly know about Erin since he hadn't talked about her to anyone, not even to Adam. _But then it hit him_.

"Give me my phone back," He ordered coldly.

She sighed as he interrupted her monologue, "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"No," He said, as honest as usual. "Now give me my fucking phone back."

"You're welcome,"

He had a couple of missed calls, of texts and even a voicemail from his dad. "What the fuck..."

" _It's me, it's dad,_ " He heard his father whisper after he put his phone to his ear to listen to his message. " _I don't know where you are but Erin was transported to Med earlier tonight. Son of a bitch stabbed her and it doesn't look good. It's bad, actually. Anyway, just call me back when you get this. We need to talk._ "

Jay blanked, guilt and regrets starting to eat him up from inside. Letting the scenario replays in his head, Jay could re-see himself leaving her behind with her worst nightmare when he could've fight a little harder to drive her away from it. He felt like shit, almost dirty. He couldn't believe it. And all he could do was regret. He regretted believing her and her endless _I'm going to be fine_ when he could've bet his damn car she wouldn't be, when all he should've done was drag her to that same damn car and get her back home. Because _that_ would've been the right thing to do, even if it meant doing it with her voice screaming at his face and threatening to shoot him with her gun again. It would still be the right thing. Because she wouldn't be a in a hospital bed fighting for her life right now if he had. And also because you don't ever leave someone in domestic danger fight alone; you fight to take her somewhere where she wouldn't have to be afraid and then you fight on your own to make sure the son of a bitch pay.

"You're screwing her too, aren't you?" Mila's voice brought him back to reality.

He looked at her, disgust obvious in his eyes. She was being the walking proof that jealousy could make the prettiest person ugly. "Don't. You don't know what you're talking about. So don't."

It was more a _don't go there_ , a _do yourself a favor and don't make me say things you don't want to hear_. He couldn't take her shit right now, he didn't have time for it. He grabbed his leather jacket and walked toward the door, Mila following his steps close behind him.

Knowing she couldn't do anything to make him stay, she decided to let her jealousy takes her a little bit further down the ugly road. "Don't bother come around tomorrow if the bitch doesn't make it, I won't help you forget about that."

"Go to hell," He snapped back without even bothering turning around, slamming her apartment door on his way out.

He drove his car as fast as his shaking hands and confused mind would allow him to go and got to the hospital 20 minutes later, which felt more like hours to him. He quickly stepped out of the car, ready to go in and find out what the fuck that son of a bitch had done to her so he could do 10x worse when he abruptly stopped.

Jason was a soldier. He was a man trained to face confrontation and not fear a inch of it. He wasn't supposed to get worried, to allow himself to think, to show any weakness. He was supposed to get up and go, no matter what could be waiting for him on the other side of the door. Because that's how you get to protect those who can't protect themselves without getting yourself killed along the way when you're fighting a war. Because that's how a soldier make it out, that's how a soldier get to come home.

But, just right here, shame and fear paralyzed him. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he couldn't carry on. He couldn't go in and face his father, tell him he offered her a ride home and then went for a couple of beers with his best friend and a fuck with some girl on the other side of town while she was being physically attacked by her roommate. He couldn't.

But he couldn't turn his back on her _again_ neither. He actually needed to hear that she was going to be fine. So he walked into the hospital, ignoring his fears and his shame. He probably asked 6 different nurses where he could find Erin Lindsay before finally finding himself standing in a emergency room she was supposed to be in. But unfortunately, the only trace of Erin in here was her blood floating on the floor.

"Jay," He immediately recognized his dad's voice behind him and as he turned around to met his tired eyes, Jason realized it was the first time that he was able to read pain and concern on his father's face.

"Where is she?" He quickly asked him, skipping the hellos and co.

"Surgery," He answered as he took a step closer to him. "Jason, what happened? Did you drive her home? She said something about you being right, that she should've left with you. You were with her, right?"

He could barely get the words out. "Yeah, I was."

Hank took another step, laying a hand on his son's shoulder. "Hey. Just tell me what happened."

"When I left home to go to Adam's, I saw her walking on the sidewalk and since it was fucking freezing outside I… I don't know, I just figured I'd give her a ride," He started explaining, trying his best to hide how uncomfortable he was. "Anyway. When we got there, the lights inside the house were on. I told her that I could drive her back to you if she didn't wanted to go in anymore but she said that she needed to. She was so damn sure that this stupid fucker was the guy who shot you, dad, and she wanted to make him pay."

"Did you told her that he wasn't?" Hank asked immediately.

"I tried but she ran out of the car before I could," He answered, rolling his eyes. "So I followed her inside the house to tell her and then that son of a bitch appeared out of nowhere. He started bitching about me being here in _his_ house with her, _his_ priority. He said it in a way to let me know he owned her or some shit. Then he offered to let me borrow her for the night against a couple of bucks."

Hank shook his head, disgusted and angry. "You've got to be kidding me."

"He didn't like it when I told Erin that we should leave _together_ so he ended up threatening me with a gun - but Erin stopped him. That's when she told me to leave, that she could handle him, that she'd be fine," He was the one to shake his head this time, still unbelievably mad at himself for actually believing it. "I should've pushed her harder, I should've made her come home with me. But I didn't. I left."

"Don't do that, don't blame yourself," Hank told him. "Believe me, I've known Erin for ten years and she has never listened to a word I've said. She wouldn't have followed anyone, not even a cop threatening to arrest her. She is almost as stubborn as you."

* * *

 _I'm unforgivable for the lack of updates. I hope this chapter can will help you forget about it._


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